Ernesto, once a Category 1 hurricane, was moving into the Bay of Campeche where it is expected to become a hurricane again.

As of 8 p.m. ET, the storm was about 20 miles (35 kilometers) east-northeast of Ciudad del Carmen, Mexico, the center reported. Ernesto was moving west at 7 mph with maximum sustained winds of 50 mph. Officials in Ciudad del Carmen reported one gust of 58 mph.

The storm is expected to make landfall a second time on Mexico's coast on Thursday.

Mexico issued a hurricane watch along the coast from Barra de Nautla to Coatzacoalcos, an area that includes the coastal city of Veracruz.

Between 4 to 8 inches of rain are expected in some areas of the region, with as much as 12 inches in parts of the Mexican states of Tabasco and Veracruz.

Hurricane Ernesto is expected to weaken as it crosses the Yucatan before emerging in the Bay of Campeche.

Belize, the southern Yucatan Peninsula and northern Guatemala may see as much as 4 inches of rain, the hurricane center said.

Ernesto will cause a surge when it reaches the coast, increasing water levels by as much as 1 to 3 feet above normal tide levels in the area near and north of where the storm makes landfall, the hurricane center said.